Elastic article applying device



April z, 1935.

` D. V1'. l-nNcl-naNv ELA-STIC ARTICLE APPLYING DEVlCE Filed 0013. 25,1933 THE I N V EN TOR. @Naam 7TH/N l HEN,

Patented Apr. 2,'122935 n' 5 1996er?.

ELAs'rro ARTICLE ArPL-No navos: I"

l Donald'l., klllinrclien,v Sydney, New Southhvtlales.,4 t l u`Australia e, 1 Application october 25, 1933; 'scritti No. i eoiaimsf(Glaces-320.gif

I 'sliovvnlov#Vvvay0f and not of limitation` a kpreferred embodiment lMy present invention relates tov artting device for elastic articles,and more particularly to a means for applying rubber gloves and likeelastic articles to other objects.

lA vpurpose. of my invention is to provide'a means talenalong line 1 -Io f Figure 3 5 showing a glove in differentpositions l.

for 4stretching, a glove or other elasticjarticles Without danger oftearing same so that the hand A further purpose of my invention is toprovide a glove fitting means in which a difference inairpressurebetween the inside and outside of the glove is relied upon toexpand the glove.

It is vcontemplated that my invention may `find general favor inapplying any type of elastit':4 article, but it is believed that/itsgreatest fieldof .usefulnesswill be found' in hospitals, dispensa j:respect-. except thatthe Vparts are reversed to -Drevidexfor lMight and1ef'hand Thereore, I ,Shall describe-onlyone suchmeans, it beingunderstood ,that each means comprises the same ries, chemicalvlaboratories and factories for' applying rubber gloves.r My inventionwill be found especially valuable in hospitals and clinics Where, as isWell known, the rubber gloves used" are of u the thinnest materials andvery often must be applied quickly.' With my improved device itwillbe'possible to easily and quickly apply the thinnest type of glove Withoutthe slightest danger of tearing same as `is so often the case Wheresuch' a glover is applied by hand. Y1 In applying a glove by'hand thereis theposslbility of the glove becoming soiled and unsanitary andtherefore Wherea sterilized'glove is .to be used my devicevvill be foundindispensableas theglove, after being sterilized, can be placed in mydevice ,and then applied to the hand Without fear` of contamination.

Where my invention is installed in theoperatber, I2, I provideatWo-Wayvalve Il which .com- 1 municates with the atmosphere and alsothrough .-ajtubeor, pipe Alvvith a suction pump or otherl Ievacuatingapparatus, not shown. The evacuatng apparatus may be a vacuum pump or itmay be a tankl from `which air has beenexhausted. Thevalve Il has anoperatinghandle I9 which Yprojectsthrough the front Wall of the cabinetIl) and `the 4stempf the valve carriesa lugvor boss ,ing'room of ahospital the nurse, after sterili'zng the gloves, can place them inthedevice Without touching more than asmall portion of the cuif;

A further advantage of my device is that with "it a user can instantlyapply one or .both glovesin a simple and quick manner andconsequzentlycan use his `bare hands up tothe moment rthe gloves are needed and thenimmediately apply the gloves by merely inserting his hands into thegloves 'which have been previously placed inthe device.y

Y Whilemy invention in its broadest aspect may find manyusefulapplications it is' believed, as suggested above, that its greatestYfield of useful- I. ness Will be in applying rubber gloves.vrThereifore,.I shalll illustrate and limit my description to apparatusdesigned for this purpose.

VFor a better understanding of my invention yref 'o'r 'anyotherobjectmay be easily inserted there- .,valve.,y Y f L v In the drawingthe numeral I0 designates a- I :housing or-.cabinet having `tvvoopenings II inthe top thereon-.Mounted in eachof these openings{andassociated therewith I provide similar means for supporting. ,and.dilating a glove, Thesesupthereof.-

Figures 1 and/2 `are.,.verticalesectional views in Figures 1 and',2 andFigure 4 .is a fragmentary vieWof a-'control portinganddilatingmeans'are similar .in every if desired. The opening of the chamber I2 isprovided with aprojecting rim I3 about which the cuit-of a`glove` M,may-,be stretched. "The that it is capableof asmall axial movement anda spring :I6 servestoholdit in its outermost position; `as `Vshovvnirl-:Figures 1 and 2 of the Y ,Connected inthe,bottoml or end of thechainy 20 VWhichisradapted to cooperate witha Astop o r abutment.2| whenthe chamber l2 withthe valve I1 is pushed in Y,110W appear-f: f q. TheAvalve Il its stem` with the lug. or.- bossv 20 'will also move. .erenceshould be had tothe accompanying-draw- 3 One port of fthe valve .llvcommunicates' with chamber iZ'is mountedin abearing collar I5 so torelease the glove as Ywill y the atmosphere `and another port isconnected through a flexible tube or hose I8 with a pump or vacuumproducing means. When the valve I'I is in the position shown in Figure 1the interiorof the chamber I2 will be connected with the atmosphere andwhen the valve I'I is turned to the position shown in Figure 2 theinterior of the chamber I2Y will be connected with the vac- `paratus,and admit air to the chamber I2.

uum producing means.

At this point it should be noted that the bearing collar I5 is sodesigned and positioned that when the chamber I2 with the glovestretched over its rim is forced inwardly the cuil of the glove will beforced off therim I3 to facilitate a withdrawal of the glove. I y

When the cuff of the glove I4 is stretched across the open end of thechamber I2 and the air is exhausted from the chamber I2 the atmosphericpressure within the glove will cause the glove to be expanded, asillustrated in Figure 2." In order to insure thatthe glove I4 willexpand uniformly 5I provide a suitable form 23 Within the chamber I2.The form 23 is'in the shape of an enlarged hand and is perforated sothat it'will notl interfere with the free removal of the air about theexterior of the glove. This form 23 may be made in any suitable manner.Asillustrated the form 23 is made with a large number `of closely spacedapertures.v It can also be formed from a close meshed wire gauze.

It has been found that the fingers of the glove do not expand as readilyas the body of the glove and therefore in some'cases a satisfactory form23 can be constructed by merely providing a restraining means about thebody of the glove and f leaving the fingers free to expand as they'will. 'Ihe operation of my improved device should be apparent from theabove description but by way of recapitulation it may be stated thatvwhen the chamber I2 isin its uppermost or normal position the user mayby grasping a glove at the cuff direct it into the form 23 with thenngers and thumb of the glove in their proper positions.

After the glove hasy been thus inserted the cuff thereof may be turneddown over the rim I3 of 'the chamberV lI2 so as to form an air-tightseal between the glove and the wall of the chamber r,I2 at this point. Yg

When the glove is thusv disposed in the chamber I2 the operator can thencause the glove to be expanded by simply turning the operating handle@I9 to establish a connection between thechamber I2 `and the pump orother vacuum producing apparatus. This will reduce 'the pressure withinthe chamber I2 and about the exterior of the glove and as a result airatrv atmospheric pressure will enter the interior of the glove and causeit to be expanded into the form 23.

After the glove vhas been thus expanded the user can easily insert hisor her hand and push the chamber I2 inwardly to a point where the valveI'I will 'cuil' off the vacuum producing ap- As soon as the chamber I2has thus been opened-to the atmosphere the glove will immediatelycontract upon the hand inserted therein so that the hand with the gloveapplied thereto can be easily withdrawn.'

vWhile I have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose my'invention so that the same can be `readily understood, described andillus- 'trated al specific device and arrangement, I desire to haveit'understood that this invention Visnot limited to the specific meansdisclosed. It is believedthat this invention is broadly new and it isdesired to claim it as such so that all changes as come Within the scopeof the appended claims are to be considered as part of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is- 1. A device for applying rubber gloves comprising amovably mounted chamber open at one end into which a glove may bedisposed with the cuff of the glove sealing the open end of saidchamber, a perforated form disposed in said chamber corresponding to anenlarged human hand, means for exhausting the air from said chamber tocause said glove to expand into said perforated form where the user mayeasily insert a hand, a, valve for permitting air to reenter saidchamber, whereby the glove will be released and permitted to engage thehand placed therein, and means responsive to a movement of said movablymounted chamber for operating said valve.

2. In avglove applying device, the combination of a support, an openended member movably mounted upon said support, said member beingadapted to receive a glove with the cuH in sealing enga-gement acrossits open end, means forjexhausting the air from said member when a gloveis disposed therein, whereby the glove will beexpanded by air enteringthrough its cuff to permit the insertion of a hand, and means operableby movement of said open ended member for permitting air to reenter saidmember after the hand has been inserted into the expandedglove to permitthe glove to assume its normal shape and the withdrawal of the hand withthe glove properly applied thereto.

3. In a glove applying device, the combination of a support, an openended member movably mounted upon said support, said member beingadapted to receive a glove with its cuff in sealing engagement acrossthe open end, means for exhausting the air from said member when a gloveis disposed therein to expand the glove and permit the insertion of ahand, a valve for admitting air to said member after the hand has beeninserted into the expanded glove, and means controlled by the handwithin the glove for operating said valve, whereby the glove will assumeits normal shape and permit the withdrawal of the hand with the gloveproperly applied thereto.

4. In apparatus for applying an elastic covering to objects, lthecombination of an open ended member into which a similarly shapedelastic covering may be placed, said member having a rim over which theopen end of an elastic covering may be stretched, a support for saidopen ended member permitting. a limited axial movement thereof, meansfor temporarily withdrawing the air from said open ended member, wherebysaid elastic covering will be expanded in said member by atmosphericpressure, and means operable by axial movement of said open ended memberfor again admitting air to said member.

5. In apparatus of the character described the combination of a cabinet,an open ended member disposed within said cabinet and movable withrespect thereto, said member having a rim projecting out of said cabinetover which the cuff of a glove may be stretched when said rim is in itsoutermost position, and means disposed about the projecting rim of saidmember for displacing the cuff of the glove from said rim when said openended member is moved inwardly into said cabinet.

6. In a rubber glove applying device, the combination of a support, anopen ended glove support- Y ing member movably mounted upon saidsupport, said member when in another position, and

said member being adapted to receive a glove with its cuir in sealingengagement across the open end thereof, means for exhausting the airfrom said member when a glove is disposed thereon to expand the gloveand permit the insertion of a hand, a valve for connecting the rinteriorof said member to the means for exhausting the air therefrom when in oneposition and admitting air into means cooperating with said member foroperating said valve when said member is moved upon its ,support by thehand within the expanded glove, whereby the air exhausting connectionwill be broken and air will be admitted to said member AandV permit theglove to contract upon the hand inserted therein. Y

" DONALD T. I-IIYNCHEN.

